November 30, 2004

WSJ on obesity study flaws

Last week, I noted that the CDC had taken "the unusual step yesterday of admitting flaws in its March study that had claimed that obesity was responsible for 400,000 deaths annually." Today, the Wall Street Journal editorial board chimes in ($) on the same topic, and adds the following legislative note:

Earlier this year the House of Representatives passed the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act, which would shield food vendors from civil claims premised on weight gain. Like a lot of other tort reform legislation, however, Senate Democrats blocked it. Perhaps the bill will meet a different fate next year. We hope so, because allowing trial lawyers to exploit the obesity epidemic -- and encouraging Americans to blame their dietary excesses on someone else -- isn't going to make anyone healthier.